PLT Health Solutions, Inc. has received Non-GMO verification from the Non-GMO Project company for its élantria Algal DHA line of ingredients. The verification covered raw materials, manufacturing processes and logistics. It is the first commercially available algal DHA to have verified non-GMO status in the U.S., based on information obtained from the Non-GMO Project. Introduced in the U.S. market by PLT in June of 2016, élantria Algal DHA has been shown to be up to four times more stable than conventionally stabilized algal DHA, offering benefits of longer shelf-life as well as improved taste and odor as a result. With this new non-GMO verification, élantria Algal DHA ingredients are eligible for inclusion in non-GMO products that industry analysts say will comprise over 30% of the total food market in 2017 and which is growing at nearly 13% per year.
 
According to PLT’s Sid Hulse, the move to non-GMO verification for this Algal DHA was part of the overall effort to build the ideal ingredient for consumer satisfaction. “Consumers of DHA are among the most selective you’ll find since much of the material is targeted to sensitive applications. With élantria Algal DHA, we are striving to give assurances of the highest possible quality to a market that increasingly demands it,” he said. “From a product developer’s standpoint, one of the features of élantria Algal DHA that stands out is its stability and resultant shelf-life. Our studies have shown that élantria Algal DHA has nearly four times the stability of conventionally-protected ingredients and a shelf-life of over 2 years,” he added.
 
Algal oils rich in DHA are known to be very sensitive to oxidation, which can detract from both nutritional and organoleptic properties of a finished product. élantria Algal DHA is stabilized using the Quality Silver^® process, which both inhibits the onset of oxidation and prevents the oxidative cascade. 
 
élantria Algal DHA is produced from the microalgae Schizochytrium sp, one of the most concentrated non-animal sources of the compound. This raw material, which is grown and cultivated using 100% non-GMO feedstocks, features a clean, enzymatic extraction process that is solvent-free. It is refined, deodorized and stabilized at state-of-the-art facilities by Polaris Nutritional Lipids (France) under strictest quality control procedures. The proprietary QualitySilver stabilization process sets new standards for stability and shelf-life. PLT offers two élantria Algal DHA ingredients either 40% or 60% DHA by weight, both in an ultra-stable form.
 
According to Mr. Hulse, élantria Algal DHA has been developed to offer the most consumer-pleasing, formulator-friendly DHA solution on the market. “Consumers of omega-3 ingredients are more savvy than ever and want it all. They want great organoleptics and nutrition. But they also want ‘lifestyle’ features, like purity, traceability, sustainability, non-animal and non-GMO and most importantly, they want a DHA source that adds to the stability of their finished product from the first serving to the last. élantria Algal DHA delivers on these promises and more,” he said.